Railroad-switch lever



'of J alapa, in the county of Grant and State of main and the switch rails to prevent the cuttie B. O is a clamp to steady the lever M at U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SYLVANIS B. NIGKUM, OF JALAPA, INDIANA.

RAILROAD-SWITCH LEVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,483, dated March 16, 1880. Application filed August 14, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SYLVANIS B'. NICKUM,

Indiana, have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Switch Lever, of which the following is a specification.

Figure lis a plan, showing the lever attached to a railroad-track. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device. Fig. 3 is aside elevation of the spring for holding the lever.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The object of this invention is to improve upon therailroad-switch for which a patent was granted to me May 27, 1879, numbered 215,960; and it consists of a lever to be attached to the side of the track, by which the switch may be opened by hand and from the side of the track.

In my Patent No. 215,960 the switch is operated only by the passage over it of the engine or car.

In the drawings, A is a lever. pivoted at a, and having its other end secured to the movable tie B. O is a lever attached at the same point to the tie B, and pivoted on a fixed tie at b. S S are the rails of the main track, and F F the switch-rails. P P are plates of metal set on the tie at the point of junction of the ting of the tie bythe ends of the rails last named. H is'a spring securedwithin the casing it, that operates to keep the switch closed by pressing against a pin, 2', that projects upward from the movable tie B. These parts and their lettering are identical with those shown in my patent hereinbefore alluded to.

M represents my improved lever pivoted on the fixed tie N, with its downward-projecting end T resting against the end of the movable the point where it is pivoted. B is a spring,

having one end secured on a tie beneath the track, and the other end extending laterally outward and divided into two fingers, the one, '12, being slightly curved and nearly horizontal, while the other, 20, is looped and bent upward at a right angle. w is a pin or staple in the handle of the lever, that may be engaged in V In order that the switch may be closed again, I

the spring R is pushed down so that the bandle of the lever M may be released from the grasp of the fingers o and w and be moved to the inside of the finger w, Whose loop will engage with the pin a" and hold the lever in place, and on this moving of the lever the spring H takes effect and closes the switch.

Having thus fully described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination of lever M, provided with downward-projecting end T and staple as, clamp O, and spring R, provided with fingers e and 20, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination of the lever M and spring R with the movable tie B and spring H, substantially as herein shown and described.

SYLVANIS B. N IGKUM.

Witnesses:

JAMES CLINTON SNYDER, MARTIN Boors HUpsoN. 

